SIUE faculty moves closer to unionization

An entry sign at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (Tyler Warren/Wikipedia)

EDWARDSVILLE — A group of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville faculty have filed paperwork to form a union, representatives say, a move the school’s new chancellor says is a “faculty decision.”

Chancellor Randy Pembrook, who replaced interim chancellor Stephen Hansen this year, said administration members “fully support and trust in their (faculty’s) ability to make prudent decisions,” though he noted shared governance “has played a major role in SIUE’s growth and success.”

“We look forward as an administration to further conversations with our faculty in order to continuously enhance the student academic experience and to maximize the working environment for everyone,” Pembrook said in a prepared statement.

Charles Berger, an English professor and association campaign spokesperson, said the unionization process could be finalized within a month. He said there was a “clear majority” of faculty members who supported unionization.

“As faculty, we would just like access to all the information that the administration has so that we can work collaboratively with the administration on solutions, on fair compensation, fair expenditures, to be a truly equal working partner with the administration. There’s nothing really adversarial about that,” Berger said. “I’m cheered by the new chancellor’s response and look forward to having a truly collaborative working experience.”

Tenured and tenure-track faculty make up the largest group on campus not represented by a union. Dental assistants, library assistants, student advisors, workers in Head Start and Upward Bound, and non-tenure track lecturers and instructors are already unionized into three campus associations.

The SIUE Faculty Association, affiliated with the Illinois Education Association and the National Education Association, filed papers with the state labor board last week to unionize upwards of 400 faculty members. The association had to first collect supporting signatures from more than 50 percent of faculty who would be represented.

The decision to unionize stemmed largely from the state budget crisis, said the Illinois association Higher Education Director Michael McDermott.

“The situation in the state made it necessary to organize so faculty here can carry out SIUE’s mission. The state’s failure to support higher education with necessary funding is forcing campus administrators to take measures that negatively impact SIUE faculty, staff and its students,” McDermott said.

Berger said it is necessary for professors to have a voice “at all levels” in bargaining.

“Regardless of who the leaders are at SIUE or at the state level, we must have a voice at all levels – with an augmented role in decision-making on campus, and beyond the university where, frankly, up to this point we have had no direct unified voice for state lawmakers and the governor to hear,” Berger said.

An entry sign at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (Tyler Warren/Wikipedia)